Improvement in street-sweepers



- I `z sheets-sheen.' J. RoBINsoN, Y STREET-SWEEPERS. i

` Patented Nov. 7, 1876.

JAMES ROBINSON, OF HESTON NEAR HO'UN SLOW, ENGLAND.

l MPROVEMENT IN `STREET-SWEEPERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,176, dated November7, 1876; application led July 6, 1876. i

` To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES ROBINSON, of

`Heston near Hounslow, in the county of Middlesex, England, a subject ofthe Queen of Great Britain, have invented or discovered new and usefulImprovements in Street- Sweeping Machines; and I, the said JAMESROBINSON, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention, and inwhat manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly describedand ascertained in and by the following` statement thereof-that is tosay:

My invention relates to certain details of -construction and arrangementas fully described hereinafter, andshown in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure l Vis a side elevation, with the outer v drive-wheel,and one of the hand-wheels on shaft I removed. Fig. 2 is a plan view,with Vthe elevator-chains and buckets removed.

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation, and Fig. 4 is an under-side View, of so muchof the machine to illustrate the arrangement of dirt-receiver andelevator or conveyer.

Similar letters of reference are employed in y lall the figures toindicate corresponding parts wherever they may occur.

A is the main frame, ofsuitable form, to receive the operating mechanismand conveyer, and consists ofthe upper and lower longitudinal girts a,al, respectively, curved at their forward end, as shown at a2, wherethey are connected together by vtransverse pieces a3, to

hitched, as fully shown by Figs. 1 and 4.

The longitudinal girts a al are further con-y nected together by meansof the rear trian gular uprightsa, the upright a5, and the reartriangular transverse pieces a6, the upper transverse piece a7, and thebraces a3, thus forming a light and substantial frame-work for theoperating mechanism. G G are the main drive or ground Wheels mountedupon an axle, c, which has its bearings in the center of the upperlongitudinal girts a of the main frame. The inner face of the hub-ofthese wheels is provided with teethwhich engage with corresponding teethformed ou the outer face ofthe hub of two gear-wheels, D D1, whichlatter are loosely mounted upon the shaft c, and by means of whichandthe following mechanism the operating devices are thrown in and out ofgear. d d are two grooved pulleys formed on 'the inner faces of the hubsof the gear-wheels D D1, and EE are two clutch-levers, which have theirfulcra in bearings ex, which project from the upper longitudinal girts aof the frame. The forks e at the forward end of the levers E E areprovided with pins which run in the grooves of the pulleys d, and therear ends ofwsuch levers are also forked, as at el, and. are at thatpoint pivoted to swivel-blocks e2, which latter are respectivelyprovided with right and left screw-threaded perforations to receive thecorrespondingly-threaded ends of a transverse shaft, F, mounted instandards f secured to the main frame at the rear of the machine. Theshaft F carries two collars, f1, which serve as lstops to limit themotion -of the swivel-blocks, and said shaft carries at its outerextremities a hand-wheel, f2.`

lt is evident from the description of this part of the mechanism that byturning either or both hand-wheels to the right or left the toothed hubsof the gear-wheels D D1 are caused to engage with, o r be disengagedfrom, the toothed hubs of the main Vdrive-wheelsA C, thus throwing theoperating devices in or out of gear as required. G is the brush-shaft,carryingafseries of brushes mounted thereon `in any suitable orpreferred manner, and has a gear-Wheel, G1, mounted at onel end whichmeshes with the gear-wheel D', from which it receives motion through theintervention of the drive-wheels (l. This shaft has its bearings inswinging levers g, the upper or forward ends of which are looselymounted upon the main axle o, while their lower rear ends, forming-thebearings for` the brush-shaft, are provided with projection g1, to whichthe lower forked ends h, of the connecting-rods .EI are pivoted, whiletheir upper forked ends l1.l are pivoted to crank-arms i mounted on theouter ends of a transverse shaft, I, which has its bearings in bracketssecured to the rear end of 'chemin frame, said shaft I lying tellow theshaft F, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The shaft I carries a short forked standard, il, between the fork ofwhich is pivoted the block Z2, which latter has a screw-threadedperforation for the reception of the screw K, the rear end of whichcarries a hand-wheel, k1, and has its bearings in a forked standard, k,secured to the rear end of the main frame. This mechanism serves toadjust the brushshaft and brushes to the surface of the ground or tocompensate for the wear of the brushes. It will be evident from what hasbeen said with regard to this portion of the mechanism that when thehand-wheel k1 is turned in either direction the screw K will cause theshaft I to rock or rotate backward or forward, thereby raising ordepressing the crank-arms t', and with them the connecting-rods H andthe levers g, and consequently the shaft G.

Instead of the screw K a lever and ratchetwheel may be mounted on theshaft I and a pawl to engage with said ratchet-wheel to hold the shaft Gin any desired position. I prefer, however, the arrangement shown anddescribed above as being more convenient and especially moresubstantial, and not liable, when the machine is jolted, to release thebrush-shaft.

L M is the dust or dirt receiver, which serves to receive the sweepingsand deliver them to the lower end or dirt-box ot' the elevator O. Thisreceiver is made in two sections, L M, the rear section L being composedof a series of independent curved plates which are hinged to the frontsection or plate M,

. which forms the delivery platform or chute over which the sweepingsare delivered tothe receiving end of the con veyer.

The curved plates Z1 Z2 Z3 of the rear section L correspond to the arcof the circle described by the brushes, and these plates are rigidlyconnected together by means of a transverse rod', Z, which, in its turn,is connected at both ends to vertical rods Z4, which latter slide freelyin bearings or ears projecting from the side of the swinging levers g,which levers form the bearings for the brushshaft G, as alreadydescribed.

The receiver L M is supported from the main frame by means of angularpivoted levers or links N, which form bearings .for the short axles nformed on the outer curved plates Z1 Z3 of the rear section L a littlein front of the hinged axis of the two sections, as shown by Fig. 4. Theupper arms nl of the angular links N carry stop-pins n2 to limit theoscillation of the two sections upon their axis n3. v

By this arrangement and construction of receiver its rear section isadjusted to the surface of the ground or to the wear of the brushes,simultaneously with the brush-shaft G, as it will be evident that whenthe levers g are raised or lowered by means of the devices abovedescribed, the connecting-rods Z4 are also raised or lowered, and withthem the rear section L of the receiver L M, so thatall these devices,the brush-shaft, the receiver, and the conveyer, may be adjusted to thesurface of the ground or the wear ofthe brushes. The connecting-rods Z4as above stated, slide freely in the ears g2 on the levers g, for thepurpose of allowing the rear section L to automatically rise or fallwhen the machine is traveling over uneven ground or meets with anyobstacles in its path. O is the elevator or conveyer, consisting of theendless-chain frame P, to which is bolted or otherwise secured theinclined elevator-platform o, having a receiving-box, o1, and a chute ordischarge-hopper, o2. The endless chains carrying the elevator-buckets ptravel over octagonal or other suitable groovepulleys '101, mounted upontwo shafts, Q Q. The shaft Q has its bearings in the upper part of theframe P, said bearings consisting of sliding blocks q1, which slidefreely in recesses formed in the sides of the frame P, and

by means of the set-screws q2 the tension of the chains may be regulatedand maintained. The lower shaft Q has its bearings in the sides of themain frame and forms the pivotal axis of the conveyer, upon which it isfree to turn when the inclination of such conveyer is adjusted. Thisshaft carries on its outer end a pinion, R, which meshes with thegear-wheel D, from which it receives its motion through the interventionof the drive or ground wheels C, to operate the conveyer-buckets. Thus,when one or both the hand-wheelsf1 are turned to throw the brush-shaftin or ont of gear by means of the devices already described, theoperating mechanism of the elevator is also thrown in or out of gear, aswill be readily understood. s

According to the nature of the workthe machine is performing, or thenature of the ground over which lit is traveling, the in clination ofthe elevator must conform, and to regulate this inclination I employ thefollowing means: S S are two connecting-rods pivoted to the chainframe Pat or near its upper extremity, as shown at s, the outer or rear end ofsaid rods being connected to a transverse arm, T, to form a yoke orbail. The arm AT has a screw-threaded sleeve, t, formed in its centerfor the reception of a screw, t1, which carries at its outer rear end ahand-wheel, t2, said screw T being supported from and having itsbearings in a forked bracket, t3, bolted or otherwise secured to therear end of the main frame, and in the center thereof immediately overor to the standard a5. It will be evident that when the handwheel t2 isturned in either direction the yoke or bail will move the elevatorforward or backward to give it the desired inclination, and to thatei'ect it is also necessary that the receiver L M should have a yieldingmotion to accommodate its delivery-platform M to the receiving' end ofthe conveyer, and enable it to .move with the said receiving end of theconveyer as the inclination is varied. n,

Instead of the screw t1 and the yoke or bail,

a transverse shaft, carrying two drums, may be employed, and theelevator may be counected to such shaft by means of chains, which lattermay be caused to Wind upon the drums when the shaft is rotated by meansof a handlever mounted upon its extremity, and a ratchet and pawl may besuitably arranged to hold the conveyer in any desired position. Iprefer, however, to employ the mechanism above described, and shown inthe drawings, as being more convenient and eiective.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of an adjustable elevator with a sectionaldirt-receiver, having a yielding motion, to allow the delivery platformor plate of said receiver to follow the movements of the receiving endof the elevator when its angle of inclination is changed,

K substantially as described.

2. The combination, with -the conveyer, of a bail or yoke, S T, thetransverse arm T of which has a threaded sleeve, andthe screw t1carrying a hand-wheel, t2, substantially as described, for thepurposespecified.

3. The adjustable hinged receiver L M, in

` combination with the pivoted angular bearof said receiver,substantially as described,

for the purpose specified.

4. The rear section L of an oscillating sectional receiver, constructedas described, in combination with the transverse rod Z, the verticalrods Z4, sliding freely in ears or brackets, and the levers g, to allowsaid front section to rise and fall automatically, substantially asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

5. The rear section L of an oscillating sectional hinged receiver, t'netransverse rod l, and the rods l, with the swinging levers g,connecting-rods H, shaft I, and the screwK, carrying a hand-Wheel,substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

6. The brush-shaft G, in combination with the swinging levers g,connecting -'rods H, shaft I, and screw K, carrying a hand-wheel,substantially as described, for the purpose specified 7. Thecombination, with the clutch or grooved pulleys d, the gear-wheels D D',and the drive-wheels C, and axle c ofthe clutchlevers E, and shaft F,carrying hand-Wheels f2, all constructed to operate substantially1 asdescribed, for the purpose specified.

I JAS. ROBINSON.

Witnesses:

CHARLES BARLow,

23 Southampton Buildings,

. London, Patent Agent, H. E. B. MENGE,

23 Southampton Buildings,

London.

